From October 2018 through April 2019 the Guggenheim Museum in New York City is exhibiting the monumental works of artist and mystic Hilma af Klint. The solo exhibition, “Paintings from the Future,” has on display astoundingly mystical, large format paintings, as well as exquisite works on paper. One notable gallery room — which has become a must-Instagram for those in the art world — includes a dozen epic works that scale ten feet high.

Both Orpheus and Dionysus are archetypes commonly active in the personalities of contemporary artists. An artist with an undeveloped “Orphic” disposition will tend more towards a longing, romanticization and dramatization — a poetic, almost mystical love. The artist tinged more with an immature “Dionysian” typology will be affected by extreme emotionality and even reckless, violent behavior. These typical scenarios are caused by living out a collective pattern — an archetype — which has an impersonal disregard the individual wellbeing.

Dan Bilzerian is a mega Instagram celebrity. He is known for a lavish life. Especially, audiences are drawn to his consistent presentation of voluptuous women, whom he flaunts, as a modern American playboy. His internet persona has made him famous, even infamous, for wild adventurousness, endless sexual exploits, large parties, as well as a macho-interests such as guns and weight-lifting. Many men admire him; they admit that, if they could, they would indulge themselves — have sex with many enticing women without commitment, travel and adventure without restriction. Other men condemn him, labeling him superficial, or fake. They research and expose the fantastic tale of his success as false. The extreme wealth, detractors say, wasn’t achieved by high-stakes poker gambling alone; it was acquired through his financial criminal father. Either way, in open admiration or envious attacks, many men are mesmerized by his lifestyle. In many of his viewers, there is a part, either conscious or unconscious, that wishes they had what Bilzerian has. This is evident in looking through the comments on his Instagram, which boasts a massive 25 million followers.

It has been very joyous for me to discover a community of artists and enthusiasts exploring the matters of the psyche through art. SEED, a group show curated by Yvonne Force Villareal, focuses on themes of the feminine as mystery and the importance of the mystical mind. It does so with expressive excellence, in the form of paintings, sculptures and mixed media works.

The “D’Madsoille de Instagram” series, presented by Tibor de Nagy, offers an opportunity to delve into these matters and contemplate what it means to consume and therefore support the production of objectifying, sexualized images today.

Whether it has been men’s reductive treatment of women, the courtesans of history, or Instagram models using their sexualized bodies as a basis for a career, an inner relationship to the archetypal feminine that is limited and ruled by libido is at the core.

Paul Gauguin, throughout his painting career, remained attached to this unconscious relationship with the anima complex, and its corresponding projections. This is evident in the fact that the recovery of his own savage nature and pursuit of a lasting art was dependent on a relationship with Tahitian women.

On a humid and hazy night, at about half-past eight, a week before Thanksgiving, Haley sat next to me as I jerkily drove the dozen minutes from her house to a downtown strip where a meager music venue was.

David Benatar is a philosopher and writer who insists that a universe without human beings is better off than one with them. He believes, that because sentient beings can suffer, in varying degrees, it is better that they never lived. Additionally, once living, suicide is, in the majoirty of cases, a moral wrongdoing.This school of thought is known as “Anti-Natalism.”

Among his seemingly random meanderings throughout the class, events that took place included, a girl crying to the class for 20 minutes about the very personal death of her grandfather, a loose discussion on the concept of time and how we don’t live in the moment, several aggressive table pounds by the professor, and a couple of phrases that made shallow sense, like “life doesn’t go fast, we go fast”.

While ambient, acoustic music played over a speaker, guests arrived in their unusual outfits, which expressed an elegance of earlier centuries. Ken, who is in his late seventies, wore a Kaftan, and his wife a vintage Eastern robe, with an antique metal belt. Robin and her boyfriend Jason arrived in the utmost majesty. She wore a delicate floral headdress and Kimono-Like gown. Jason described his one-of-a-kind ceremonial robe.

The excessive technological stimulation causes many of us to ignore the Life which exists in slow and open moments when we are able to absorb each other and the world around us. Recognition of the downtempo pace of a pre-technological existence is a needed counterbalance.

Flashy screens, moving images, endless songs to stream and infinite news stories are all alluring. Widely accessible content, from comedy to calamity, becomes addictive to our minds which are designed for curiosity. Please, in the days after reading this pay attention to your own habits.

In order to bring a more comprehensive scope and even more depth to the study of the archetypal dynamics at play in politics and social movements today, we must recognize the role of the archetypal Feminine[1]. The social turmoil and divisive politics in the United States and Europe, all of which terrify, yet also excite and stir change — as seen in movement and countermovement, progression and reaction — are all contained within the most essential and primordial archetype of all: The Great Mother.

In some ways I feel how Carl Jung must’ve felt at the brink of World War II, when he saw Hitler at a parade and immediately turned to his travel companion and said, “that is a man possessed.” At that moment, Jung recognized the personification of an evil so powerful that it is mythological, not merely human.

For a long time I have been fascinated with the processes of conception, pregnancy and birth. This interest was sparked when I saw the Business of Being Born. The documentaries overview of the modern history of birthing practices is fascinating and disturbing.

I find the trend towards simplifying, back to a woman's natural, instinctive power, combined with use of breath and mindfulness to be an astonishing revival, rich with everything good about humanity.

If, as a culture at large, which has been rapidly advancing scientifically, we can reactivate the appreciation of the poetry in life we would all better exist in relation to one another and to ourselves. This means seeing some aspects of life as facts of physics and others as facts of psyche.

On a humid evening in the middle of Brooklyn, as thunderclouds indecisively condensed, threatened and then broke apart, I arrived at a long warehouse. There my friend Rachel and older sister Lizzie were putting together the final touches to the event space . At midnight I was to turn 25. But this year was monumental for another reason then my being on this planet for a quarter-century.

Some of the most influential and idealistic songwriters, like John Lennon, have claimed that music can change the world. Other musicians, like Bono, have used their fame to effect political change. On the other hand, much of the popular music today self-orientated and superficial. Even still, this is entertainment; an example of music as not-so-much saving the world, but making it a less shitty place to be.

I was stricken with empathy and inspiration when I heard Cara Delevingne say, in an interview at the Women of the World Summit, that “The most important journey I think all of us will go through, is the journey through ourselves; to find who we are and what makes use happy. And in our culture we are told if we’re beautiful, skinny, successful, famous, if we fit, then we’ll be happy. But, that’s not entirely true.”

People in their late teens and early twenties must undergo the process of coming to understand their identity, and often go through feelings of isolation, but this undertaking is not often talked about publicly and few perceive this struggle from the Instagram feed of a fashion sensation.

Being the same age as Cara, and having had my own experiences with depression and overall disillusionment with the world we live in, I feel as though I could have an honest conversation with her. The lyrics of this song are approached in that manner.

For her, it seemed the intense spotlight, and the materialistic industry she was involved with, had torn her away from who she is beyond her exterior beauty. Our culture is so focused on superficiality that it was courageous and admirable for her to expose her tender truth and fresh wounds.

The opening line of my song— “Cara Delevingne, what does life mean?”— stayed with me for a while as the initial spark. This sense of almost ironic, raw truthfulness was carried throughout the song, which I felt was enhanced by another layer; referencing the Beatles classic folk-rock sound.

For a celebrity to reveal their psychological issues and inner struggles, to their young fans, helps to restore some balance in this over-inflated materialistic modern culture. Cara letting people know that the fashion industry was destructive to her mentally, that the glamorous lifestyle was not fulfilling on a deep level, may indeed help awaken the youth to this wisdom.

Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

— Carl Jung

There is no coming to consciousness without pain.

— Carl Jung

So, thank you Cara for inspiring me to create this song. I hope that we all can have the opportunity to strive for profound levels of self-realization and come to know our inner world, values and abilities in order to contribute to the collective.

Throughout the process of directing this video I had no conceptual idea as to why I was doing the stop motion animation. Certainly, it all was inspired by the fact that I had amassed a large collection of collage materials: tear outs from vintage esoteric magazines, stolen images from newspapers, textiles, prints, scraps of drawings my sister brought home from college. Drawers filled with these images and textures inspired me to create.

As I began to piece together the segments of initial stop motion, I realized I needed more content. I went to my journals and began to do stop motion, moving through the pages, zooming in on compelling illustrations and crouching to the camera, overlooking the notebooks, until my knees crippled. When Interpreting this strong element in the video, the exposing of my journals, there is an obvious connection to the song "Thick Skin" which lyrically is so raw and upfront with vulnerabilities.

please enjoy watching the video before continuing...

In the lyrics of the song I honestly explain shortcomings, fears and struggles, which are usually left unsaid; remaining in a journal, therapist office or hidden behind brief glances, slammed doors and in between the brief silences of telephone call. In other words, I say out loud, in the song, troubles and doubts many of have experiences, but never wish to announce.

This song isn't just about a bad day, an unlucky week, or even a dark winter which persists in weakening our willpower or mood, it's about a dysfunction and disillusionment much more prolonged and interwoven into the most fundamental foundations of the psyche, which make the world and society seem unfathomable. It's a vast, overwhelming fear which makes everything seem undo-able, where all of life towers in its vastness.

Undeniably there is a sarcastic tone to the song, as if to say: "Yes, I know I'm complaining." There is something inherently ironic about a rock song, a John Lennon, George Harrison, or Lou Reed style guitar lick juxtaposed with such depressing lyrics. In a dramatic way, I exaggerate the theme, inspired by real emotions, and say during the refrain "everything seems to get at me."

During this phrase I imagined the food being splattered at my face, in the dimness of night, with contrasting light. The setup was relatively simple, but it all had to happen in one shot. Once my white shirt and face where spoiled with the blackness, the crud, the gloppy grossness, the shot could not be redone. We left the camera rolling for the whole song and what you see are the results of that moment.

The uncomfortable feeling you see is real and so is the fundamental theme of the song. In conclusion I can add something uplifting and say that life seems more inviting these days, girls easier to talk to, dreams much more pleasant and everything doesn't seem to get at me.